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Construction has been at the heart of government plans for economic development, with the expansion of energy and transport infrastructure intended to help realise the goal of diversifying the economy. The government seeks to generate over $13bn in infrastructure investments by 2016. The high cost of construction materials, limited transport infrastructure and delays on payments from the public sector will likely translate into a higher construction costs in the short to medium term. In the long term, however, the price of projects could come down. Real estate activity in Gabon has decreased slightly since 2012, but remains on an upward path nonetheless, with demand across all market segments driving growth. Recent government initiatives to cut back on red tape should help to speed up project delivery. Demand for housing is likely to continue providing opportunities for investment for local and international companies, although the implementation of projects could still face obstacles as plans for urban regeneration and expansion confront sporadic and informal urban development on the ground. This chapter contains an interview with Jim Dutton, Director-General, National Agency for Public Works.

While Gabon has a well-established niche in the global mining market as a key manganese exporter, its ambition to significantly expand exploration is generating strong interest from junior miners. With mining accounting for 6.3% of GDP and 6% of exports in 2012, according to the African Development Bank, there is potential for growth. The implementation of a new mining code in late 2013 is set to revise several rules. As Gabon seeks to catalyse investment in exploration and increase its downstream processing capacity, striking the balance between its development prerogatives and incentives for investment will be crucial. The domestic industrial base is small, but with a concerted government strategy intended to leverage the country's sizeable natural endowments towards higher-value-added processing, there is growth potential. Existing capacity is focused in the areas of building materials, food, beverages and limited timber and manganese processing. Industrial activity accounted for 7.7% of GDP and 4% of the labour force in 2012. Close coordination and timely completion of state-run infrastructure projects will be critical to the policy’s success. This chapter contains an interview with Regis Immongault Tatagani, Minister of Industry and Mining.

Gabon aims to significantly increase its domestic food security by 2020, while also working to expand its cash crop exports. An integral part of efforts to diversify the economy away from dependence on oil, successful implementation of its agricultural strategy will have a major impact on its balance of payments and generate significant employment growth. The government has initiated a wide-ranging agricultural development policy aimed at boosting the sector’s weight to around 15% of GDP, and attaining self-sufficiency in subsistence crops, fisheries and meat. Major investments in oil palm, rubber, sugar, coffee, cocoa, maize and soya will boost exports and meet domestic demand in the next seven years. This chapter contains an interview with Sunny Verghese, Group Managing Director and CEO, Olam International.

As with many of Africa’s emerging markets, a number of challenges face Gabon’s insurance sector, including low insurance awareness, a small domestic client base and declining oil production. And yet the Gabonese market remains one of the largest in the sub-region, and it is set to expand in the coming years as the demand for personal insurance lines increases. Despite its modest size, the local insurance sector is highly competitive, with eight companies vying for market share. Rising industrial and construction activity, coupled with the expansion of the market through newer lines such as life and health coverage, have supported growth in recent years. Government efforts to expand industrial activity across a number of different sectors, including timber processing and mining, stand to increase demand for related lines of insurance in the medium term.

The Central African Stock Exchange (Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières d’Afrique Centrale, BVMAC), headquartered in Libreville, is one of two regional bourses – both of which are located in CFA zones – on the African continent. The past few years have seen only occasional activity on the bourse, in spite of the region’s improving headline growth and the sizeable expansion plans of some of its largest firms. In 2011 sovereign debt accounted for 65% of listed instruments on the BVMAC. Regional and international organisations, such as the BDEAC and the International Finance Corporation, made up 11%, while private firms comprised 24%. Efforts to increase the number of companies active on the bourse include offering incentives, such as a 25% reduction in corporate taxes for firms that list 10-15% of their capital. This chapter contains an interview with Pierre Vandebeeck, Chairman and Managing Director, Société d’Investissement pour l’Agriculture Tropicale (Siat).

While Gabon’s banking sector is one of the more developed in the Economic Community of Central African States, penetration lags behind its sub-Saharan African peers. Banking assets accounted for 21% of GDP in 2012, according to the IMF, while the private sector’s ratio of credit to GDP stood at 11% (19% of non-oil GDP). As of April 2013 there were just over 266,000 accounts for 1.5m people. Yet as banks’ over-liquidity continues to grow, the sector will be looking to expand its intermediation to the real economy. The €25.5bn Emerging Gabon development strategy is expected to create greater demand for long-term funding, and Gabonese banks should have a bigger role to play in this as new regulations aim to encourage local content. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Lucas Abaga Nchama, Governor, Bank of Central African States (BEAC); and an interview with Thierry Tanoh, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational.